


The Southern Gate

by MelissaTreglia



Category: Forever Knight
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-10-01
Updated: 2010-10-01
Packaged: 2017-10-12 08:20:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/122860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelissaTreglia/pseuds/MelissaTreglia





	1. Chapter 1

Natalie groaned, her eyes fluttering as her dormant mind swam into consciousness. Her fingers reflexively grasped, clawing at the loosely packed soil on which she lay. Her tired eyes opened, her fuzzy vision clearing as she took in the world around her. There were trees with bristled tufts in lieu of leaves, the grass beneath her was verdant yet pallid, and a brook babbled contently somewhere beyond her immediate line of vision. As she lifted her head off the soil that had become her pillow, she saw a pastel lavender sky hovered miles above with two suns, one slightly smaller and darker yellow than the other more Sol-like star, and three moons appearing as glowing white chunks of rock in the sky.

She was definitely not on Earth anymore.

Her throat felt parched as desert sands and, when she cleared it, it started to ache. Her first prerogative was to quench the suddenly overpowering thirst; she'd figure out where she was later. She winched herself up into a sitting position, another groan escaping her lips as muscles, rubbery from lack of use, complained stridently at being disturbed. She hesitantly managed to haul herself to her feet, using the trunk of a nearby tree as leverage. The bark had a curious, almost velvety, feel as she leaned on it and attempted to get her bearings.

The brook called to her sweetly, reminding her why she'd gotten up in the first place. She began to stumble through the trees, her body aching, but she emerged by the brook. The water was clear, flowing over the large pebbles that made up its bed. Small fish, no bigger than her index finger with scales that reflected a rainbow of colours, swam through occasionally, on their way to lay their eggs in deeper, more nutrient-rich waters. Such clear life-bearing water should be safe for drinking, she reasoned to herself.

Only now was she aware of the pack that was strapped to her back. She slipped the loops off her arms, letting it fall with a dull thud onto the forest floor beside her. Zipping it open, she found the barest minimum of survival supplies afforded her by those who had stranded her here: a sharp knife, durable drinking cup, a thick blanket and ration bars. In addition, there was a package of items that just barely qualified as a first-aid kit.

Sighing in disgust at the sorry excuse for medical supplies, she snatched up the cup, and experimentally dunked it into the brook. She only levered enough water into the cup to cover just the bottom of the container. Sniffing awkwardly at the cup and, finding no unpleasant smell to alert her of something untoward, drank the contents slowly to whet her whistle.

Her suffering throat relaxed when touched by the coolth of the water and, when it was satisfied, her stomach began to demand its share. This time filling the cup completely with the stream's water, she also pulled out one of the ration bars from her backpack. The ration bar was tasteless and hard but it, along with the much-needed water, was a simple meal that would suffice.

For now. She had no idea what she'd do when all her rations finally ran out. Her semesters in med school had never prepared her for anything like this, had never prepared her for the "front line". Her lessons had taken place in the hospital school, with clean white walls protecting her from the dangers of the world outside. She felt so ill-equipped to fend for her own survival.

There was a snapping noise in the distance, and her head whipped toward the source of the sound. Someone – or something – had stepped on a twig, alerting her to their presence. Instantly wary, she instinctively drew the knife out from her survival kit, clutching its handle like a life raft.

A portion of the thick hedge of bushes rustled, and a man appeared from them. He was tall; all broad shoulders and long, muscular limbs. He had the deepest, most brilliant blue eyes she'd ever seen on a man, his head was capped by soft blonde waves, and his complexion was – to be polite – extremely fair. He looked as if he'd never seen the sun.

She instantly felt relieved. She wasn't alone now; someone else was here too. She sighed and dropped the knife back into her bag, glad she didn't need to use it.

"I'm sorry I startled you," his voice was quiet and soothing, and its alluring yet lazy timbre fascinated her. He was addressing her in Bakta, a sort of compounded creole language spoken by slaves of many worlds, and used by their masters to issue orders. She, like many human slaves culled from various countries on Earth, had learned it out of sheer necessity. With various torture implements used by the Invaders to school those who were required to learn, it was next to impossible to avoid the lessons. Even so, it was a simple enough language to speak, and it actually sounded poetic flowing from this man's tongue. "You shouldn't be out here alone. There's a settlement a few miles north of other 'colonists'. I'll take you there, if you'd like."

She nodded dumbly. When she finally found her voice, it sounded shy and girlish. "Thank you. I'm... I'm Natalie." She stood and awkwardly thrust out her hand in greeting.

He captured her hand but, rather than completing the shake, simply held it. His touch was far cooler than she expected – _Poor circulation?_ she wondered -- and his grasp was delicate as if he were taking hold of the crown jewels. Yet, she could undeniably feel the strength in his hold, in the fine motor control, as if only his conscious effort to be gentle on her were preventing him from mishandling her by sheer accident.

"Well, Natalie. It's nice to make your acquaintance. I'm Nick." A shiver coursed through her when he spoke her name. It was certainly not fear, but a frisson of attraction, however faint. Admittedly, after all, she'd have to be either blind or dead to be ignorant of his good looks. Even the standard-issue boring gray jumpsuit they both wore seemed more interesting on him; accentuating the shape of his musculature in a way that, ludicrously, only seemed to enhance his attractiveness.

Then he smiled, and she knew she was done for. It was a reassuring sort of smile that lit up his eyes and gave him a certain boyish charm that she found incredibly magnetic. She knew she should have been wary of him – all those childhood warnings about not talking to strangers – yet she felt incredibly safe with him. Somehow, she just knew she wouldn't come to harm so long as he was present. And, frankly, she was better off risking it with him; whatever wild animals were present in these woods wouldn't be so discerning.

He dropped her hand, and she mourned the loss of the brief contact between them. "Get your things, Natalie. It's going to be a bit of a walk."

* * *

The walk was peaceful, for the most part, and they gradually eased into more friendly conversation. It seemed, from Nick's point of view, that the dropping of people onto the planet was in a scatter-shot fashion... and she had been the farthest out, so far. Or rather, she was the only one to have been discovered so far away from what appeared to be the hub of the colony drops.

Natalie felt a flare of resentment at the notion of this unwilling colonization. She longed for home, for her family. She wanted to taste Earth cuisine again and visit Earth's many libraries; things she'd taken for granted before the Incursion. The life she could have had on her own home planet had been ripped from her hands, her dreams of finally becoming a doctor shattered. She was so angry, she wanted nothing more than to hit something repeatedly. A punching bag of some sort would have been ideal at that moment, but was unfortunately not available. As it was, her teeth were now set in a grinding motion.

She grasped Nick's hand as he carefully led her down a rocky slope. The slope was gentle enough, but the boulders weren't quite so accommodating, requiring judicious navigation of the area.

He stopped by what appeared to be a now-desolate makeshift camp. There were some charred remains of wood logs in a heap and surrounded by a tight circle of stones. She hadn't realized they'd traveled so far until he encouraged her to sit on the blanket he unfurled for her onto the soft mossy ground. She happily accepted, uttering a soft "oof" when her tired legs seemed to give out underneath her, just before her backside connected with the blanket. Nick himself chose to sit on a boulder, after collecting another assortment of kindling for a new fire. Dumping the tinder into the center of the fire, he took up two of the stones and repeatedly struck them together in a very methodical fashion.

She watched with keen interest as sparks began to fly into the air, conjured from the repetitive contact between the two rocks in his hands (big, nicely-shaped hands with long tapered fingers, she noted). Within a matter of minutes, he had coaxed the beginnings of a fire from the stones and into the wood.

 _Must be some sort of flint-type rock_ , she thought to herself, as he set the stones back down in the circle and gently blew on the sparks to encourage the flame to build. Of course, geology had never been her forte, so she didn't concern herself with the correctness of her guess. Whatever the case, her new companion had clearly picked up a few survival skills here and there.

Curiously, she only then realized the sky had gotten darker, similar to Earth's sky during a solar eclipse. Only one sun was still present in this more alien firmament – the smaller deeper yellow sibling – and two more moons had made their appearance on the southern horizon. Despite the dimmer light, she could still see quite clearly, and was fairly certain that, if she had a book, she could read the text without much effort in this light.

It was beginning to get a little chilly, and she glanced at her companion before opening her backpack. "Are you sure you don't need your blanket?" she asked. "It seems a little unfair for me to have yours as well as mine."

He shrugged the notion off. "Don't worry. Unless it's a temperature only a polar bear could love, cold doesn't bother me. You need the blankets more than I do."

Her responding shrug mimicked his. "Fair enough." She pulled out her own blanket and draped it around herself to ward off the slight chill. Being rather petite and slight made her more vulnerable to the elements than someone larger and more naturally "insulated". She could never stand the cold, even if it was the middle of spring on Earth. He smirked in amusement at her, but she didn't care. Being warm and comfortable was all that mattered to her, at the moment.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, his quiet voice now comfortably familiar to her. "I was planning on doing a bit of hunting."

Natalie nodded, her face coloring briefly from embarrassment. "Yeah, actually. Those ration bars they gave us are dreadful."

Nick chuckled softly. "All right then. I'm not really hungry myself, yet, but I could do for some exercise." He stood. "Just stay right here and relax. I'll be back in a little bit."

She nodded and he left, walking into the distance and seeming to almost dematerialize before her very eyes. However, she merely shrugged and put it down to a minor hallucination brought on by not having slept well in some time. Life, after all, had not been easy for anyone after the Incursion and, when trouble loomed, a good night's sleep was usually the first thing to go.

But it did seem strange to her that such a skilled survivalist would leave his knife behind.

* * *

For awhile, there was nothing but quiet all around her. The smell of the burning wood in the fire wafted to her nose, along with the piney smells of the surrounding forest, as if to comfort her in her solitude. Creatures that sounded similar to crickets were making chirping noises in the twilight.

All was quiet, that was, until she heard a distant growling of a predator followed by the death shriek of some animal she couldn't identify. The horrible sound of that cry seemed to echo in her ears, and she pulled the blanket she swaddled herself in tighter around her body – ludicrous, as if the fabric would somehow protect her from whatever that beast was.

Moments later, she heard the now familiar beat of Nick's footsteps, followed by a dull rustle. He must be dragging a carcass behind him, she thought. I'm glad whatever that... thing... was didn't get him. Aloud she said, "I heard some noises, like some animal was attacking another one. Did you see it?"

His face had an expression on it she couldn't immediately decipher. "No," he replied, with an odd sort of calm to his voice. "It mustn't have been close enough for me to get a look at it."

For some reason, the perfectly reasonable explanation didn't settle well with her. Attributing her unease to her nerves, she did her best to set it aside and think nothing more of it. Hunger might be playing with my mind, she reasoned.

She ate well, after Nick had skinned the animal. Curiously, he had declined the meat of the animal he killed, even when she offered to share her portion. Nor did she get a good look at the creature as he was skinning it, and she remained unsure of how it had died. However, the meat tasted excellent – certainly an improvement over those dreadful ration bars, anyway – and she went to sleep in the blankets with a full stomach. But as she hovered between dreams and wakefulness, she couldn't shake the feeling that was nagging her. In her tiredness, somehow, she knew.

He had lied to her.


	2. Chapter 2

Natalie awoke when the sister suns were low in the sky, promising the beginning of a new day on this strange world. One of the moons was also out, its glowing crescent visible in the daylight. Nick appeared to be sleeping, his back leaned against the boulder he had sat on for most of the evening. His head was down, shadow obscuring his face. He appeared to be asleep, except for one detail.

He wasn't breathing. At all. This was confirmed when she placed her hand in front of his mouth. No air was coming out, nor was there any sort of movement. She placed her index and middle finger against his throat and found no pulse, either. For all intents and purposes, he appeared to be dead.

Until he finally did give a sharp inhalation. She jumped back away from him, stunned by his apparent resurrection. His eyes, when they opened, quickly flashed gold before settling back to their original blue. His brief glance on her was as if he were staring into her very soul. In spite of herself, she shivered. He was clearly far more alert than he should have been.

"You're not human, are you?" she asked him, her voice so quiet that she half-hoped he'd miss what she said.

Apparently, he'd heard her loud and clear. "No, I'm not. I'm from Earth, like you, but I'm not human. I haven't been for a long time." Before she could decipher the meaning of that, he voiced his own question for her. "Are you afraid?"

"No." This time her voice was far more confident. "If you were truly dangerous, you've had ample opportunity to hurt me already. Instead you kept me fed." She hugged the one blanket that was still loosely draped around her shoulders closer to her body. "And warm." At the lift of his eyebrow, she added dryly, "Call me crazy, but I can't help but trust a guy who's gone out of his way to help me at least this far."

There was a hint of a smile on his lips, the very same smile which only made him more alluring. He was a fascinating enigma, and she couldn't resist the urge to plumb the depths of his psyche to discover his deepest secrets. "Maybe you are crazy," he said with a chuckle. "But hopefully, it's the good kind of crazy."

She laughed as well. "There's a good kind?" Then she cleared her throat, sobering herself. "So, how far's this 'colony' anyway?"

"Just a few more miles," Nick replied. "We're in the home stretch now."

"Do you live there with the other... people who got dropped?" She couldn't hide the curiosity that made its way into how she voiced the question.

"No. I live alone, out here." His voice was quiet. "I don't think they'd be able to accept the likes of me."

Natalie tilted her head, her expression akin to that of a confused puppy. Human or not, she hadn't thus far discovered anything untoward about him, and couldn't understand why anyone else would have a problem with him hanging around. "It's not a good idea to spend so much time alone. Come with me into the colony. You already know where it is; I'll just be your free pass through the front gate."

Nick snorted. "There's no gates." When she shot him a dirty look, he amended, "But I do appreciate the gesture." He then stood. "Come on, Natalie. We've got some more hiking to do."

* * *

"So, Natalie," Nick murmured as they continued their walk, "just how old are you, exactly?"

"Umm...," she faltered, dreading his reaction. When she finally spoke, her voice was small. "I'm nineteen."

"You're nineteen?" His tone was half impressed and half skeptical. "That's awfully young for a third-year pre-med student."

"I graduated high school at sixteen, after skipping two grades in junior high," she explained shyly. "I was also my year's senior high valedictorian."

Nick chuckled. "So, that makes you a very smart girl, if something of an overachiever."

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with being smart."

He actually barked a laugh. "I never said there was. You have every right to be proud of your intelligence. Just don't be too proud." He then grumbled, "Nineteen. Damn. As if I didn't feel old already."

Natalie looked at him curiously. "How old are you, anyway? Thirty? Forty?"

He chuckled again. "You are so far off, I can't even begin to tell you..."

"Okay," she huffed. "Don't tell me, then."

He snickered, shaking his head. "You're not a very sporting loser."

* * *

It was another hour before they reached what appeared to be a cliff overlooking a valley. The valley was faintly bowl-shaped, and the cliffs were quite steep, jutting out into the empty space at a protracted angle. There seemed to be no way down at all.

"Great," Natalie muttered. "I'm guessing the colony is down there somewhere?"

Nick merely grunted.

"Ok. Just how the hell are we gonna get down, exactly?" was her waspish response.

"Easy,"he replied, squatting. "Climb onto my back."

"What? Why?!?"

"Just do it. And close your eyes."

Reluctantly, she placed her arms around his shoulders, linking her hands in front of his body. As he stood, he hitched her legs around his waist. Then, once her eyes were closed, he leapt off the cliff. Rather than plummeting, he sailed down gently to the ground below, landing neatly on all fours.

It wasn't until they landed that she opened her eyes, then slid off his back and onto the ground. Bewildered, she stared up at the edge of the cliff they'd departed from. "How...?" she muttered.

"A long story," he replied. "Very long."

* * *

They walked farther. She'd stopped attempting to figure out how far they traveled, trading the computation of miles for wondering if they'd ever actually get there. Her legs were tired, her feet aching from the abuse they registered.

Until she distantly smelled the cooking of meat. Her positive outlook suddenly renewed, she got a second wind, picking up her pace into an awkward half-run as Nick seemed to glide right beside her. He had picked up his running pace too, but his motion was smoother than hers – as if he were an Olympic athlete. She felt a stirring of envy.

They emerged from the brush to what appeared to be a clearing. There was the hulking entrance of a cave several dozen feet from where they stood. All was quiet.

Until someone also emerged from the brush, aiming what looked like the shortened version of a spear at them. She yelped in surprise at the sudden appearance of an armed person, but Nick merely raised an eyebrow. Otherwise, he gave no outward reaction.

"Umm," Natalie murmured awkwardly. "We come in peace?"

Nick, who'd remained silent, added in a firm, commanding tone, "Who's in charge here?"

"I am." It was a woman's voice. The woman who also emerged looked to be in her forties, a dash of silver-grey hair at her temple. "My name is Sarah. And you are...?"

He inclined his head to her in a gracious and dignified gesture. "I'm Nick, and my companion is called Natalie. If you'd be so kind, we need a place to stay."

"Right now, we're making do in the cave systems," Sarah replied. Then her eyes narrowed. "How did you manage to find us? We haven't sent out a recon party in over a week."

"We were in the area," Nick lied. Natalie thought the lie sounded pretty smooth and believable... but the lady in charge didn't quite seem to be buying it, any more than Natalie herself was.

The woman said nothing in response, however. Finally, Sarah nodded. "Follow me."

* * *

She had led them into the sleeping area of the cave system. "You've got your own blankets, I presume?" When both nodded, she added, "Make sure you keep everything on you close at hand. Not that we've got much to spread around in the first place, but there are those with taking ways."

"Who would think anything we've got is worth stealing?" Natalie wondered aloud.

"You'd be surprised." Odd, but the strange woman was staring right at Nick when she said that, leaving Natalie to wonder just what Sarah was implying. "For some, what can be taken is very basic indeed."

Nick shifted uncomfortably under the woman's scrutiny. He was understandably unhappy with the unspoken accusation. "There won't be any taking of anything around here," he replied, his voice soft yet insistent.

"See that there isn't." With that parting salvo, Sarah left their company.

Natalie shot a look at Nick and, now that they were in relative privacy, demanded, "What was that about?"

Nick shrugged, and refused to answer any further. Sighing in disgust at his stonewalling, Natalie pulled her blanket out of her sack and unfurled it onto the cave floor, before curling up on it. Despite the otherwise sorry tools their captors had bequeathed them, she had to admit the blankets were pretty damn comfortable.

That was the last thought she had for awhile, because sleep quickly claimed her.


	3. Chapter 3

She wasn't quite sure how but, sometime during her sleeping hours, her head ended up on top of Nick's chest. His body temperature was cool – a lack of sufficient body heat, the aspiring doctor in her reasoned – and his chest was neither rising nor falling with air.

The revelation wasn't quite as much of a shock as it had been the previous day, and she found herself relaxing further. What appeared to be the state of a newly deceased human was somehow completely normal for him, and it didn't disturb her as much as it probably should have.

She didn't know a damn thing about the man, she realized, but she felt far more comfortable with him than she reasonably was supposed to be. She shifted herself, tilting her head so she could look up at him while keeping her cheek pressed against his chest. She then felt his chest finally rise, the sound of breath rumbling as he inhaled, followed by a slow exhalation. Then, his voice danced in her ears once again, this time in a partially-groggy mumble, "'Mornin'."

"'Mornin', Sleeping Beauty," she replied, her tone gently teasing. "Just exactly how'd I end up using you for my pillow?"

"Your head was on the cave floor when you fell asleep," he replied. "You looked uncomfortable, so I figured I'd make myself useful." He grinned down at her.

"Well, thanks. You're not the softest pillow I've ever had, but I can't argue with the results."

"Are you hungry, Nat?" he asked. Then he corrected himself, "I'm sorry, _Natalie_."

"Don't apologize," she replied. "You can call me by either name, if you like." She then grinned, and reluctantly lifted her head off of his chest. "And yeah, I am hungry."

"Ok." He merely shrugged. "I'll see what there might be for you to eat around here, besides ration bars." Then he got to his feet and wandered away, deeper into the cave system. A few minutes later, she saw him talking to Sarah. They were deep in conversation and, though she strained to hear, she couldn't figure out what they were talking about. But the colony leader handed him what appeared to be a makeshift flat, wooden tray loaded with food and two kinds of drink. He nodded acceptance of the gift, and took it back to where he and Natalie had bedded down for the previous cycle.

"Here," he said, handing her the tray. Then he took a mug off of the tray before she could discern its contents. "This is for me. The rest is for you."

"You're not going to eat?" she asked him.

"No. I'm not very hungry," he replied. His answer rang false to her, but she merely shrugged and dug into her meal, which was a delicious soup. _Oh well, if he insists on starving, then let him,_ she thought.

* * *

Early in the day, they were both put on "kitchen" duty, which mostly involved skinning the freshly killed animals that would serve as food and chopping up the tubers that were unearthed. Her mouth watered, remembering the sweet potato-like taste of the tuber. She also botched her initial attempt at skinning, but Nick proved to be very helpful in that regard.

Around midday, they took a short break from the monotony for lunch and a breath of fresh air. Natalie said nothing again when he refused to eat, as they had been surrounded by people. But once they were outside together, and alone, she chose that more private moment to insist upon the truth. "Look, I know you're not human. But why aren't you eating? _Anybody_ would be ravenous by now."

Nick shrugged. "Because I don't need to eat."

Natalie tilted her head to regard him, not in confusion this time, but in curiosity. "Why not?"

He looked away from her. "Think about it, Natalie. Try to put the pieces together. You're smart enough to figure it all out."

Natalie stopped, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip. "Hmmm... ok. Well, I've only seen you drink, and not eat. You're capable of jumping off a cliff without harm." Her brow furrowed in thought, and her gaze dropped to her shoes -- standard issue boots. "You didn't take your knife when you went hunting the night before last, and yesterday Sarah had implied that you'd 'take' something. You don't seem to have any noticeable body heat. And..." She trailed off and, when she resumed, her voice had become quiet. "You literally sleep like the dead."

"I sleep like the dead because I _am_ dead." His voice was so soft, she nearly missed the words. When she looked back up at him, she started. His eyes had noticeably changed colour, from their deep blue to an oddly mesmerising amber. "I'm a vampire. And that doesn't make me the safest company to have."

Natalie gave a gusty sigh. "Didn't we have that discussion before, about you not being good company? Personally, I wouldn't care if you were the reincarnation of Sweeney Todd. And I don't care if that sounds crazy or naive. You've been nothing but kind and helpful to me and, until I see otherwise, I have no reason not to trust you." She then eyed him intently. "And you killed a deer... thing... instead of me when we were alone in the woods, when you had plenty of opportunity to go after me. No one would've known I ever ended up on this crazy planet. You showed me mercy when you had no reason to. I officially owe you one. Or maybe two." She then chuckled. "Or maybe three, or more."

Nick, in spite of himself, also chuckled softly. "It seems you're one of a kind." His eyes narrowed, his gaze upon her intense and unwavering. "You'd be willing to give a monster like me a chance?"

Natalie nodded. "Innocent until proven guilty, as far as I'm concerned."

"I've killed people before." His expression was forlorn. "But that was a long time ago, and isn't something I'm proud of. It wasn't an overnight decision to stop, either. When I began to regret my choice to become this, I began to kill only those I thought truly deserved it. When I realised the hypocrisy of killing only the guilty, I... I finally stopped altogether. Now, I only drink animal blood. It isn't quite as satisfying, but it's... not such a great sin."

That definitely sounded believable to Natalie. She placed a hand comfortingly on his arm. "I kinda had that feeling about you. The archetypal repentant fallen angel." There was a long moment of silence between them, where she found her gaze pulled inexorably to his. "You're... you're not hypnotising me, or using some sort of magic powers on me, are you?"

A brief smile flitted across his handsome face. "I tried that before. It doesn't work on you."

"Then maybe it's just you." Hesitantly, she placed a kiss on his cool cheek, so tantalizingly close to his lips. Warmth flooded through her at the sensation of the contact, and she wondered what it would be like if their lips met. He had been standing as still as a statue, back ramrod straight, as if he were unable to trust his own response to her. She then sighed in regret. "You know... there aren't that many people in this colony. Your secret won't be a secret for much longer."

"I know." His voice was tinged with honest regret. "I won't let you take the fallout for befriending me."

"Oh no," she snorted. She stared up at him, her only friend, her look one of pure defiance. "No you don't! We're in this together, ok?"

"You're certain?" He was understandably stunned.

"I've never been more certain of anything in my life."


	4. Chapter 4

They returned to their chores, Natalie insistent on taking him by the hand so everyone would see. It might have seemed that she had staked her claim on him as a suitor, but it was in fact a silent acknowledgement of their pact. It was an understanding of the mutual decision to face fate together as friends, rather than individually as strangers passing each other by like the proverbial ships in the night. It wasn't easy for Nick to accept that Natalie truly wanted to aid him, unaccustomed as he was to the depths of human compassion, but he was cognizant in the manner that one typically acknowledged the inevitable.

Try as he might to hide it, she knew he was nervous -- even scared -- about what would happen when the rest of the colonists knew the truth about him. He actually had to prevent himself from gripping her hand too tightly, lest he break any of her fragile human bones. She had become in such a brief time entirely too precious to him to risk her discomfort or displeasure in any way. He had concluded that he needed her as much as she seemed to need him.

Provided their relationship could remain symbiotic, it held a world of promise that had long been foreign to him.

That evening, when they bedded down to rest for the next sleep cycle, he watched her as she slept. She had immediately placed her head against his chest, no compunctions whatsoever, and had quickly fallen asleep in his protective embrace. Her complete trust in him had thrown him for such a loop, he wasn't bound to recover his equilibrium soon; she _knew_ the ugliness in him, and she still held no fear or hesitation whatsoever. She was either very brave, very foolish or maybe even slightly mad... or perhaps all of the above. Either way, he felt entirely too damned giddy to worry overmuch.

Her breathing was easy, no signs of strain or discomfort as she dozed, and her peach-complected skin radiated warmth. Against his better judgment, he ran a hand through her wild auburn hair, so delicately so she would not be roused by the movement. The unruly curls were as soft as silk and, when his gently probing fingers reached the scruff of her neck, he felt the thrum of her young life pulse under his cold ageless fingers. She murmured and shifted slightly, but remained caught deep in slumber and nestled more firmly against him. The lazy pulsations of her heart idling in its rest called to him... but so did the natural perfume woven in her skin and hair.

That wasn't to say she was a beautiful girl. Her face and figure wouldn't necessarily launch a thousand ships like a modern-day Helen of Troy. Rather, she was charming in a quiet, unassuming, girl next door fashion as opposed to the notion of a fantasy pinup. But it was just that very sort of real earthy charm that appealed to him, the unadorned essence of her seductive in its own uncontrived way. Let other men have their high-maintenance trophy wives with their vapid giggles; he would be content to bask in this little redhead's sunny, rich laughter that caused her face to freckle so delightfully. Even if, regretfully, she neither could nor should see him as anything more than a friend.

Yes, just the treasure of her smiles would be enough for solace.

* * *

It was hand in hand again -- or rather, her clinging to his arm, as if in refusal to let him go -- that they faced the outburst from various members of the colony. There broke out loud arguments and accusations. Natalie bristled at some and rolled her eyes at others, but Sarah's voice cut through the din. "All right, that's enough!" The colony leader turned to Nick. "All right, Nick, give it to us straight: how do we know you'll be on your best behaviour?"

"I'm all the proof you need," Natalie insisted. "Think about it. Would he have shown up here with a human in tow, if he was a heartless killer? No, because a heartless killer would lurk just outside of the colony, waiting to pick off those who stray too far from safety." She gazed up at Nick. "Right?"

Nick nodded curtly, not trusting himself to speak. After all, he used to do exactly that.

"Listen up, people," Sarah then said. "You don't have to like someone or get along with them for them to be useful. And everyone here _is_ useful, in one respect or another." She then turned back to Nick. "I take it you have a lot of experience hunting." When he nodded, she then told him, "All right, then you'll be part of one of our hunting groups." Another protest began to arise, but Sarah cut them off with a sharp crackle of command. When the mutterings again subsided, she added, "You do your part like the rest of us, and use your expertise to keep us all fed and out of danger."

Sarah then turned her gaze on Natalie. "And what are we gonna do with your little girlfriend here?" More murmurs, whisperings about what their relationship was. Natalie forced herself to ignore the unkindness of her audience and focus solely on Sarah's piercing glare. Nonetheless, her grip on Nick's arm tightened a little.

"Umm... I am... or I _was_ a pre-med student. They took me just before I could graduate to practicing on live patients in the teaching hospital."

"All right. So you've got a lot of medical theory stored in your pretty little head. How good are you at putting theory into practice?"

"At the risk of sounding like I'm tooting my own horn," Natalie said shyly, a hint of a smile forming on her face. "I'm... actually pretty good. Better than you'd think. In fact, there used to be plenty of country doctors who knew less than I do."

Sarah chuckled. "That's good to hear. Especially given that you're the only person we've got with any kind of medical expertise. If you're as good as you say you are, you'll definitely make life a little more comfy here." She pressed a finger to her lips, her gaze thoughtful. "You'll team up with Donna. She was a herbalist back on Earth. Between the two of you, you should be able to figure out what plants could serve as good down-home remedies for whatever ails ya.

"And Nick, you'll be part of Rob's hunting party this evening." When a corner of the spectators raised their voices in protest, Sarah rounded on them. "Oh, can it already, will ya? Y'all put me in charge, so don't buck me when I make a command decision."

Sarah's gaze returned to Nick and Natalie for a moment, when she told them, "All right, kids, you've got your marching orders. See that you do the damnedest you can to make this colony feel a little more like home." Her gaze then narrowed. "And if one of you jerks us around, _both_ of you will have to deal with the consequences. We clear on that?"

"Yes, ma'am," they replied dutifully.

"All right. Everybody's dismissed. Nothing more to see here."


	5. Chapter 5

Natalie allowed herself a moment to sigh in relief when the meeting broke up. "Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Nick snorted. "It depends on your perspective. They have a lot of faith in their own abilities..."

"And they have none in you," Natalie finished. She then sighed. "They just need time. The notion that vampires actually exist in the first place is a little hard to swallow, and takes a while to adjust to. It'll take even longer to sink in that you're one of the good guys."

"And some of them will never get it," Nick replied dourly. "Not that I've ever been an angel, or that I think I deserve kindness. I don't. But..."

"Oh, cut it out, will you?" she replied hotly. Her brief flare of temper quickly cooled into sympathy, however. "You're just as deserving as anyone else. Yeah, you've got some real problems to face, some inner demons to vanquish. But who doesn't? An alcoholic or drug addict needs sympathy and tough love in equal measures, so why not you? You're really not _that_ different." She then leaned in a little closer to him, her tone tender as she gave him the comforting hug of a loyal friend. "You're human where it counts. Your pulse may be a lot slower, but your heart's just as vulnerable to breaking as anyone else's. Stop selling yourself short. You've got just as much to give, if not more."

Nick sighed in contentment at the contact, his hand instinctively brushing through her fiery mane. She seemed to fit against him perfectly, like the piece of a puzzle he didn't realize had been missing. "I don't know what I did to deserve you." The barest hint of a smile then crept over his features, and he breathed in her cinnamony scent quietly so as to not alert her to his moment of weakness. But, romantic at heart that he was, he couldn't help but admit, "Maybe I _did_ do something right, after all."

"So, are you gonna stop beating yourself up all the time?"

"Maybe." Under her penetrating gaze, he reluctantly admitted, "Probably not. Well, maybe not _all_ the time, anyway."

* * *

It was with great reluctance that Nick was permitted to hunt in the group he'd been assigned to. It came as no surprise that the other -- _human_ \-- hunters were skittish around him. But the knowledge that someone did care and have faith in him gave him peace to accept the reticence -- or even open hostility -- with a more passive and contemplative mindset. Unbidden, and to his complete surprise, a half-remembered Bible verse from his days as a callow Christian youth popped into his head: _Father, forgive them. They know not what they do._

It made him stop and consider his own myriad sins in a new light; after all, he hadn't _truly_ known what he had been getting into either, on the night he chose an unending life in flesh rather than an eternal life in spirit. Maybe Natalie was right in her dear insistence of his innocence. Maybe, in a strange way, he was still no more than a child.

He didn't get the opportunity to delve more deeply into the depths of his neglected soul, as there was too much to do in the here and now of this untamed new world. Instinct guided him the moment he caught the scent of prey, and he concealed himself in the brush, silently signaling to the rest of their band to hide.

A large herbivorous creature was grazing upon some apparently quite tasty ferns. It was stout and muscular like a bull, it had an impressive horn structure similar to an elk, and was nearly the size of an elephant. It was _dinner_.

He waited for the right moment and then struck. But he had miscalculated. For all it's bulk, the animal proved to be extremely agile. He was brutally slammed against a tree and plummeted in the most ungraceful manner to the forest floor. He shook himself off, instantly recovering from the blow that would have hospitalized the mere mortals who accompanied him. A rain of arrows and spears was the instant response from the safety of the brush. Several of the arrows struck the hide of the animal, but it was too thick-skinned for the deadly hail to incapacitate the animal.

Nick leapt back onto the back of the creature, binding his arms around the creature's torso in attempt to remain astride. The pressure of his hold increased until bones began to give under the raw preternatural force. The animal wailed its pain as several breastbones snapped. Victorious, the vampire clawed and tore at the creature's thick hide and finally sunk fangs into exposed pink flesh at its throat. The frightened animal reeled from the pain and blood loss, finally collapsing under its own weight and roughly exhaling its final breath.

In spite of this, the animal already in the literal jaws of death, the other hunters nonetheless did their part to tear into the creature with their weapons. But an arrow strayed, lancing at Nick instead of the creature he was feeding from. He roared in agony and his body returned to the ground again.

* * *

Natalie's heart leapt into her throat when the hunters returned with Nick being half-carried. When he weakly staggered against her, she immediately did her best to maneuver him back into the safety of the cave and their bedding. No one moved to aid her in her load, all being too wary of her vampire patient to offer help. Once he was laying supine, she immediately pulled the offending wooden object out of his chest and did her best to remove the shards as well. "I hope I just did the right thing," she murmured to his unconscious body.

The other hunters, meanwhile, were blaming each other for the injury. Sarah rolled her eyes as they argued. "All right, if none of you can agree who actually did it, you'll _all_ be punished for it. Fair enough?"

The hunters suddenly went quiet. None seemed to argue with taking the fall -- except for one, who immediately protested the notion. The entire party turned and glared at him. "Well," Sarah said smugly, "I think we've found our culprit."

That was the day that stocks were built for offenders to sit in; proof positive that Sarah's administration had teeth. Natalie didn't care who was responsible. She refused to leave Nick's side to see judgment handed down to the fellow who had, it was discovered, fired an arrow at him entirely on purpose. She didn't even care who it had been. All she wanted was for Nick to recover.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick was feeling better the next day, though he did mention on one occasion that there was still an ache where the arrow had run him through. An understandable complaint, and Natalie doted on him incessantly until he could take no more coddling and fumed at the mere notion of staying in bed like an invalid (although, he _was_ to a degree, but male pride wouldn't permit such a notion). Despite the reduction in his efficiency, he nonetheless continued to do quite a bit more than his fair share of the less physically demanding tasks, until Natalie finally gave him a clean bill of health and he began to tackle the more complex ones.

As his mobility returned, he began to increasingly accept chores that others frequently hated or, at best, merely tolerated. He could often be seen digging fresh latrines -- a chore generally used as punishment for other colonists due to its revolting nature -- and he did so cheerfully, without complaint of any sort. Natalie understood better than anyone else that he took these chores on because he so desperately wanted to be useful. It wasn't because he felt anymore that he had something to prove to others; it was because he needed to prove it conclusively to himself that, yes, he _was_ needed just as much and was important, if not essential, to the machinations of this burgeoning tribal society.

The physical labour was, in simpler terms, his way of clearing the cobwebs out of his head and finding clarity. Though Natalie insisted he need not run himself into the ground, she nonetheless understood. After all, she had been much the same in her academic studies. It was only the pace of life in the colony that made her reassess her drive to get everything done quickly, rather than simply take as much time as needed and get it done right the first time. Different circumstances, yes, but their mentalities were very much the same in things that mattered to them individually.

At any rate, she needn't have worried. Nick proved to be something of a dynamo: possessing nearly endless energy and a single-minded determination. When his mind was set firmly on the task at hand, he could not be diverted until its completion. Certainly an admirable quality in any individual, male or female.

It took a few weeks before he was placed in a hunting party once again, and by that time he was chomping at the bit. It was a different party this time, consisting of individuals who had grown tolerant of -- and had even begun to appreciate -- his presence in the colony. While they didn't necessarily welcome him with open arms into their enclave, there was no apparent hostility and he need not be concerned any longer with watching his back.

The hunting party left that night and returned to the colony bearing loads of meat fresh for the cooking fires. The hunters had outdone themselves: with Nick's help, they had bagged a greater kill than had previously been attained. There would be more than enough for everyone to eat, and their return was celebrated by the other colonists.

Nick himself chose to sit apart from the festivities, only permitting himself the indulgence of a contented smile as he quietly sipped his own unique beverage from his cup and watched the others. However, he wasn't entirely alone. Natalie had chosen to sit beside him and, after eating her share of the food, absently rested her arm on his leg and propping her shoulder against his side.

Their companionship was a near-constant now, and several of the colonists had begun to speak of them as if they were one individual: running the phrase "Nick and Natalie" into a single word. But for all the gossip, they seemed to be merely close friends. And, with no privacy to be had in the colony, it was unlikely they would have been able to get away with any intimacy without it being subject to the rumour mill the next morning. If it were even possible.

Not that they hadn't considered it. What no one quite understood was how their affections for one another had deepened. But, then again, it was doubtful anyone would ever understand. It was greater than friendship, and deeper than mere attraction; a real alliance had been formed, one on strong foundations that were not likely to be shaken easily.

As the festivities began to wind down, and the colonists became lethargic from their feasting, Nick gently pulled Natalie further away from the epicenter of the activity. It was a brief walk, before they reached a small lake where they could watch one of the two suns drop below the horizon and the sky darken to a deeper -- yet not midnight -- blue. It was the wrong time of year for complete darkness, and then -- a colonist who had been an astronomer predicted -- the darkness would only last for about four hours, and only during the winter months.

His arms were protectively around her as they watched that partial sunset, as Natalie leaned back against him. "You know," Nick mused. "In a way I'm glad about what happened. These past few weeks were the first time in centuries I ever saw sunlight."

"You mean, the vampires going poof in sunlight thing is true?" Natalie remarked, surprised. "I would never have known. It's kinda weird though that you're not affected by _two_ suns shining down on you instead of just one." Her teeth worried at her lower lip, an expression that Nick realized she used when vexed by something. "I mean, how is that possible? It's not consistent... hmm. Maybe there's a protective layer in the atmosphere, or something?"

"I couldn't say," Nick replied. "But I'll enjoy the benefits while I can."

Natalie turned and was surprised to discover that he was regarding her with a fair amount of intensity. "What?"

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing you in the sunlight. Especially the way your hair catches the light." Hesitantly, he brushed his hand along the ends of her hair. "You're really quite beautiful, you know." Anyone else uttering it would have made it seem cliche but, the admission was so uncharacteristic of him, that she instantly felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. His hand changed directions so cool fingers met her blush-heated face, and he tilted her head up.

There was a long moment where they found themselves staring into each other's eyes, Natalie bemusedly wondering if she'd suddenly been dropped into the middle of a romance novel. And then, to her exultation, he kissed her. The contact was tender, Nick only exerting the barest hint of pressure so that their lips actually met. A jolt of electricity lanced down her spine and she clung to him in attempt to remain on her feet.

But his arms held her fast, and the kiss deepened until, regretfully, he withdrew to allow her air. Good Lord, he'd officially kissed her senseless! She panted and remained clinging to him, nuzzling her face against his broad shoulder. She hadn't many experiences to compare it to, but it didn't matter. The result was delightfully heady, and she happily remained latched to him as they returned to the cave system, and settled in to rest.


	7. Chapter 7

The next month passed much as the previous one had, with the colonists generally being too consumed with the necessities of the day to day survival to be concerned about what lay ahead in the future. Needless to say, they all got a rude awakening when a spaceship flew directly overhead their colony. As the ship passed, everyone experienced a tingle -- as if jolted from a mild electric shock. A meeting was quickly called.

"They must be counting heads," someone said. Natalie turned in attempt to locate the voice, but couldn't figure out and so discarded the notion of keeping track of anyone who spoke at the meeting.

Another someone grunted. "Looks like they gave us just a long enough rope to hang ourselves by, the bastards." There was a hearty outcry at that, Natalie was pleased to hear. But then, there'd always been the prevailing belief in popular culture that an alien occupation would unite the human race more surely than anything else.

"I have a theory," Nick said, seated in his by now traditional spot next to Natalie. "I think they dropped us here to see if we could survive. Once it's confirmed by their bosses this planet's safe for colonization and we've begun to build ourselves up enough, they'll swoop in and take us over."

Of course, there was an outcry about that too. Not because anyone disagreed with either the notion or whom was speaking it, but because it was so very unpleasant to hear. There were, unfortunately, some idealists who preferred to stick their heads in the sand and hope their problems would go away -- a strategy that, of course, had never been historically valid.

The bottom line was that the colonists had no choice but to face the ugly realization that they wouldn't be left to their own devices. They were, ultimately, still slaves and there was little to be done about the matter. Unless they chose to engage in outright rebellion.

"Rebellion would be too costly," Sarah said, taking her place as mediator of the discussion to prevent things from getting too heated. "We don't have the numbers and they could easily scrub us off the face of this planet. So, we need to be more subtle than that."

"Outright rebellion, yes. But careful manipulation and a little judicious fear-mongering? Maybe not," Nick murmured thoughtfully.

"Fear mongering?" Natalie repeated dazedly. "You're not serious..."

"Very serious. What we lack in numbers and fire-power, we can make up for with scare tactics. Keep them guessing, wondering," he replied. "We take advantage of their blind spots, find their weaknesses and use that against them."

Someone snorted. "And how do we do that?"

Nick smirked. "One baby step at a time. We need to start by becoming a mobile unit. As long as we're just sitting here, waiting, we'll be easy targets." He then gave an odd hitch to his shoulders that wasn't quite a shrug. "We need ships. And to do that, we'll have to take them for ourselves."

Natalie blinked. _Nick's advocating piracy?!?_ She wasn't so sure that was a wise idea.

A grin slowly spread over Sarah's face. "You know, they're still landing 'drop' ships on a regular basis. If we could nab a few, that'd be a step in the right direction."

The grin on Nick's face wouldn't have looked out of place on a shark. "Then, the next one that lands, we steal. Of course, we'll need a diversion..."

There were beginning murmurs of agreement from the assembled. People were starting to get on board with the notion. But, then again, even a half-formed plan was better than nothing.

Sarah then added, "Nick, this is your baby, so you're in charge of it. Assemble a team of advisors, engineers and whoever else you think you'll need to make this happen. I don't know about you guys, but I'd love to kick a little E.T. butt."


End file.
